Hannah and her Sisters

"Hannah and her Sisters" is a film I could see loving more and more in my twilight years. Not that I don't love it today, it is still one of my favorite Woody Allen films, but it's also one of those films that becomes more meaningful as I grow older. I remember first seeing "Hannah and her Sisters" when I was very young and I was seeing Woody Allen films for the very first time. Back then I probably didn't fully understand all the themes Allen was playing with, this was an adult film, and I was not fully there yet. Still I enjoyed it, the acting stood out for me, the dialogue, I knew I was seeing something quite brilliant; Allen mostly deals with intellectuals in his films, speaking a language I could only hope someday to understand.

I've revisited the film multiple times since then and it brings about such a warm quality to it, Allen is often harsh and judgemental to his overly neurotic characters, but here he seems to at least forgive them and accept them, it's probably no coincidence the film begins and ends with Thanksgiving dinner.

The story is one of Allen's most ambitious, Hannah (Mia Farrow) is married to Eliot (Michael Caine) who's in love with her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey). Lee is in a suffocating relationship with a genius painter (Max Von Sydow) and decides to start seeing Eliot. Hannah's other sister is Holly (Dianne Weist), a struggling actress who doesn't seem to have any direction in her life. She is always asking Hannah for money, she's a former coke addict, and she's full of anxieties and insecurities.

There is also Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (Allen), a hypochondriac comedy writer who, after a health scare decides to find out if there's actually a God by trying to find religion.

Anyone of these characters Hannah, Lee, Holly, Eliot, Mickey, even the painter are strong enough to have their own film, but Allen balances these stories and their themes beautifully, I was amazed at the end just how well it all comes together.

Each character has their own specific needs, that aren't being met, they are unhappy, they don't know what they want or what they need, they all seem lost. Even Hannah, the one who does seem to have it all together, she is the most responsible one of the family, she takes care of everyone. On the outside Hannah doesn't seem to need help, as she's a natural caregiver to her sisters, her husband, and even her parents who don't have it perfect. Yet near the end of the film we get a very emotional scene involving Hannah and Eliot where she basically does admit she has needs just like everyone else.

Holly looks to be the opposite of Hannah, she resents her and always thinks she's belittling her and her career. There is a lunch scene in a restaurant where all three sisters are together, all emotions, resentments, and betrayals seem to come to the surface in this scene, so many things are said and left unsaid, yet we know what each sister is thinking, it is the emotional height of the film and it's one of Allen's best.

The acting is just stellar in this film, Allen has always had the gift for giving actors roles they could really sink their teeth into. Oscars were awarded to Weist and Caine for their roles, and they are magnificent, but I want to draw attention to Farrow, perhaps one of the most underrated actresses of her time. Farrow worked with Allen almost exclusively during the 80s and early 90s which might by why she wasn't given much notice. But there is a certain sadness she brings to her best roles, Hannah was probably tailor made for her, but look at the hurt she brings to it and the utter surprise in her eyes when Eliot speaks of her never needing him, it's great film acting.

Perhaps the whole moral of the film comes from Mickey who recounts his very comedic attempt at suicide after he comes to the conclusion life is meaningless. After the incident Mickey goes to a movie house to try to put his life in the right frame of mind. On the screen is the Marx Brothers in "Duck Soup" (Obviously) and it's there where Mickey finds some happiness and enjoyment out of life.

"Hannah and her Sisters" is probably Allen's most forgiving film to his characters, they are often dysfunctional, but he never judges them. Unlike some of Allen's films, these people are given a chance to be forgiven and to start with a clean slate. In real life, things might not have worked out so well for Hannah, Eliot, Lee, Holly, and Mickey, but their lives are in a movie, they are meant to show us how we could live ours if we could be just as forgiving to ourselves. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone is unhappy from time to time. I think with "Hannah and her Sisters", Allen is showing us without these unhappy moments and mistakes, life wouldn't be worth living, and as the final bit of dialogue in the film shows, it is also full of surprises.

Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule Seasonal Quiz

1) Depending on your mood, your favorite or least-loved movie cliché.
In any sports movie where there is an inspirational speach by the coach and/or teammates.

2) Regardless of whether or not you eventually caught up with it, which film classic have you lied about seeing in the past? "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" only because someone leant it to me and I told him I saw it cause he kept asking me about it every day. I finally did watch it though.

3) Roland Young or Edward Everett Horton?
Edward Everett Horton

4) Second favorite Frank Tashlin movie
Have yet to see his films unless you count his cartoons.

5) Clockwork Orange-- yes or no?
Yes although I don't find it to be Kubrick's greatest, but it remains interesting to me.

6) Best/favorite use of gender dysphoria in a horror film (Ariel Schudson)
"Psycho"

7) Melanie Laurent or Blake Lively?
Melanie Laurent

8) Best movie of 2011 (so far…)
Of what I've seen "Rango"

9) Favorite screen performer with a noticeable facial deformity (Peg Aloi)
Montgomery Clift in his later years.

10) Lars von Trier: shithead or misunderstood comic savant? (Dean Treadway)
I have never seen his films.

11) Timothy Carey or Henry Silva?
Timothy Carey

12) Low-profile writer who deserves more attention from critics and /or audiences
Sarah Polley

13) Movie most recently viewed theatrically, and on DVD, Blu-ray or streaming
Theatrically: "Thor"
DVD: "Public Speaking"

14) Favorite film noir villain
Harry Lime in "The Third Man"

15) Best thing about streaming movies?
You don't have to pay for them

16) Fay Spain or France Nuyen? (Peter Nellhaus)
Don't know either of their work, but Fay Spain was in "The Godfather Part 2" which I just recently watched so I choose her.

17) Favorite Kirk Douglas that isn’t called Spartacus (Peter Nellhaus)
"Ace in the Hole"

18) Favorite movie about cars
"Two Lane blacktop"

19) Audrey Totter or Marie Windsor?
I'll go with Marie Windsor for her part in "The Killing"

20) Existing Stephen King movie adaptation that could use an remake/reboot/overhaul
Christine

21) Low-profile director who deserves more attention from critics and/or audiences
Martin McDonagh

22) What actor that you previously enjoyed has become distracting or a self-parody?
Seth Rogen

23) Best place in the world to see a movie
Of the places I've been to Princess theatre in Edmonton. In the world, i'd imagine Paris would be wonderful.

24) Charles McGraw or Sterling Hayden?
Sterling Hayden by a nose, how can you deny "The Asphalt Jungle", "The Killing", "The Long Goodbye" and "The Godfather" among others, plus the fact that he was almost Quint in "Jaws"

25) Second favorite Yasujiro Ozu film
"Late Spring" thank you for the Ozu question, more please.

26) Most memorable horror movie father figure
The Devil in "Rosemary's Baby"

27) Name a non-action-oriented movie that would be fun to see in Sensurround
I don't know what that is.

28) Chris Evans or Ryan Reynolds?
Ryan Reynolds although that question wouldn't keep me up at night.

29) Favorite relatively unknown supporting player, from either or both the classic and the modern era
From the classic era: William Demarest
From the modern era: John Slattery

30) Real-life movie location you most recently visited or saw
Would it be a cheat to name my own movie in that case the "Good Morning" set.

31) Second favorite Budd Boetticher movie
"The Tall-T" although I have to revisit his films since I've only seen a few of them once.

32) Mara Corday or Julie Adams?
These Actresses are becoming more and more obscure

33) Favorite Universal-International western
"The Man from Laramie"

34) What's the biggest "gimmick" that's drawn you out to see a movie? (Sal Gomez)
3-D for "Avatar" I couldn't resist back then, now I can.

35) Favorite actress of the silent era
Lilian Gish

36) Best Eugene Pallette performance (Larry Aydlette)
"The Lady Eve"

37) Best/worst remake of the 21st century so far? (Dan Aloi)
Of the ones I've seen the remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" with Nicole Kidman, I don't even remember what it's called.

38) What could multiplex owners do right now to improve the theatrical viewing experience for moviegoers? What could moviegoers do? owners can hire people who know how to work projectors. Movie goers can take chances at smaller films so there can be bigger venues for them.

Works from Two Cannes Directors: Woody Allen and Terrence Malick

Once again, I failed to make it to Cannes! It would be a dream to go one year just one year, until then I can only yearn and dream.

One of my favorite movie times of the year comes when Cannes opens and I get to hear about all the great films premiering from there, most of which won't see the light of day in my neck of the woods, unless they are "Kung Fu Panda 2".

Two films that did make their premier at Cannes this year came from two of my favorite directors, Woody Allen and Terrence Malick. Allen's "Midnight in Paris" opened the festival out of competition. As a fanatic of both Allen and Paris, the film seems delightful. Malick, the great reclusive director had great success with "The Tree of Life", only his fifth film in 35 years.

Seeing that I was unable to see their latest films, I decided to visit films from these directors I haven't seen yet.

For Woody Allen I chose "Everyone Says I Love You", a modern musical, that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle with the rest of his work, not many people talk about it anymore. It's the story of an upper class extended New York family as the film seems to follow them throughout the year. This is also a musical Woody Allen style, which includes many old standards from the jazz era. I found many parts of this film to be utterly charming, it's lightweight, romantic and fun. Allen is known as a cynic sometimes, but I think he's best when he lets his romantic self come to light. Allen has made better movies than this, but very few of them have been this magical.

Next up was Terrence Malick's "The New World". I had yet to see this film centering on the story of Pocahontas as she encounters John Smith (Colin Farrel) and later moves to England and marries a tobacco farmer (Christian Bale). Terrence Malick is one of the most lyrical filmmakers today. I found "Days of Heaven" and "The Thin Red Line" to be existential masterpieces. I found "The New World" a challenge, I grew impatient with it, yet there are passages as beautiful and poetic as he has ever done. "The New World" didn't keep my interest as much as his other films, that isn't to say I'm dismissing it, Malick isn't the kind of director to get the brush off. I found after watching "The Thin Red Line" again, it became more deeper and meaningful to me, who's to say the same can't be said for "The New World". I will definitely revisit it again some day.

Happy 70th Mr. Zim Where ever you are.

The Godfather Part 2

They said it couldn't be done. I don't know who "they" is exactly, perhaps there is not "they", whoever they may be, "they" are the ones who said you couldn't improve on perfection. Yet if there was a time, it actually happened, it was in 1974 when "The Godfather Part 2" premiered. Was it better than the first? This has been asked by scholars of film throughout the world, was it indeed better? There must be one, a definitive greatest "Godfather" film. Surely it couldn't be part three, that mess of a movie about redemption and the Vatican with Sophia Coppola showing why she's best behind the camera.

Alas I cannot choose, for I deem them to be both masterpieces of film art, they stand above other mafia movies, for, dare I say, they are each a piece of a large story, perhaps the most ambitious of 70s cinema. It is all a story of America, a story about power, attaining that power, and becoming corrupt by it, so much so that you lose your soul.

One thing "The Godfather Part 2" has as an advantage to part one is Francis Ford Coppola gives space to explore the Corleone family and its power struggle from two different points of view. We see the humble beginnings of the original Godfather Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) as he escapes from his native village after his family is wiped out from a local Don, and he comes to America. We also see his son Michael (Al Pacino) now head of the family after the events of part one.

Michael is a changed man since the events of "The Godfather", he has been thrust into the family business in order to protect his father. His new ventures with the family include the Casino business where he forms an alliance with a Jewish gangster Hymon Roth (Lee Strasberg). Roth is someone not to be trusted, he tries to assassinate Michael, and turns his own brother Fredo (John Cazale) against him.

Michael's entourage is also different from his father's. His adopted brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) is more or less sent in the background. The family home is now in Lake Tahoe Nevada, while people from the olden days seem to stay in New York. One of these is Frank Pantangeli (Michael V. Gazzo), who is having problems with his family and resents Michael's alliance with Hymon Roth. Unlike his father, Michael seems to be more paranoid with whom he can trust, for awhile he seems to be in control, yet it comes a shock when he finds out his it was his own brother Fredo who betrayed him.

This is Michael Corleone becoming unglued, as he tries to keep his power he is alienating his family. Kay his wife (Diane Keaton again the one ounce of goodness in the film) is drifting further and further away. Like in the first film, the last time we see Kay is when a door shuts in her face, only this time by Michael, and even more colder than before, because it is done so matter of fact.

In contrast, Coppola takes us to the youth of Vito as he makes his fortune. Vito was always the more sympathetic Don because you can see what he did, he did for his family. Perhaps he was just smarter than Michael, or perhaps less selfish. We see Vito gain his power by killing a local Don in New York thus gaining respect by the people. However he is never seen as a corrupt individual. Vito is more like a Robin Hood to the people who does favors to the poor and small business owners. He is unlike the Don who he kills or like the one who killed his family.

The scenes of young Vito are gorgeous to look at in their reproduction of old New York, and Coppola's tracking shot of De Niro stalking the Don that he kills is a tour de force of dramatic effect.

There is a difference of power when it comes to the time of Vito and the time of Michael. Coppola shows us perhaps the noble venture of Vito to create a better life for his family, but Michael becomes a shadow of who his father was as he doesn't know when to quit until there is no turning back for him. By the end of the film, we can only imagine where Michael can go from here.

Coppola leaves the film on the right note of dread, there is no operatic music when the family does away with their enemies as it was in the first one, Nino Rota's score is more melancholy and bleak, Gordon Willis' cinematography also seems less stylistic and more hard. Pacino's Michael is more dangerous, more dazed, more unsettled. Michael looks more tired, and there seems to be little feeling in his eyes, when he slams the door on Kay for the last time, it's as if he's sleep walking.

One of the final scenes in the film is a flashback which incorporates Sonny (James Caan) and Tessio (Abe Vigoda) back from the dead. In this scene you can see many things happening, it's when Vito was still in power, it's when the family was all together, you can see all four Corleone brothers talking near the end. You can see Michael, a misfit who decides to enlist in the marines and fight in the war instead of doing what his father wanted. It's heartbreaking to see and I think it gives Michael a little bit of grace before the last shot where we see him alone with only the shadows of his past to haunt him.

So which film is the greatest? I watched "The Godfather" just recently, it was a beautiful film, highly stylized, it's so iconic, a film I fall in love with. However I would argue "The Godfather part 2" is more tragic, more ironic in its idea of the American dream and the corruptibility of power, it puts the period on a fascinating saga. If "The Godfather" was a poem about a certain way of life, then part two was its eulogy.

The Godfather

What can you say about "The Godfather" that hasn't already been said? It's a film of legend, it changed the cinematic landscape. It's a miracle it was made, it came from a pulp novel, it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, he won an Oscar for the screenplay of "Patton", yet he was a relative unknown director. Coppola saw Marlon Brando in the role of Don "Vito" Corleone, but he was considered washed up.

Al Pacino was in constant fear of getting fired for his portrayal of Michael, could you imagine anyone else playing that role? Imagine Robert Redford, who was at least the producer's original choice. How could Michael be blond. There was arguments that the film looked too dark to be sold as a blockbuster. Plus this was a film about the mafia, it was violent, it was bleak, and we were meant to sympathize with these people.

A tough sell all the way, most movies have their stories of how they were made, but with "The Godfather" it's just another part of the legend. The film is so good, so beautiful, it should be studied for every student of filmmaking, screenwriting, cinematography, and acting, it takes you to school every time.

The film remained a mystery to me as a child, I was not allowed to watch it, there it was one night on television, I was completely enraptured by it from the beginning. There was that wedding, which takes up the entire first half hour of the film. We are introduced to the world of Don Corleone, inside his office, he is granting favors, be it murder, or threats, doing all very dignified, in contrast outside is a big family celebration with the large extended Italian family.

We meet Michael (Pacino) the war hero of the family, the only one who is legitimate, this film is of his downfall of course. He's young, there is love in his eyes for Kay (Diane Keaton), he loves his family but he swears never to become like them. But later, The Don is shot down, Michael must protect him, and he ends up killing the people responsible.

There are also Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) the adopted son, and lawyer to The Don, he's the voice of reason in the world of crime. There is Sonny (James Caan) the hot headed older son who is meant to take over for the Don. Then there is Fredo (John Cazale) the innocent, he doesn't know any better. It's mostly a family of men, sure there are the women, Coppola has great sympathy for them as they are not allowed into this world, they are left out in the cold, but they are the ones who mourn the most over the deaths of husbands and sons.

"The Godfather" is Shakespearan in its execution, the dialogue seems to come from an older time, yet it's modern. Take the scene where Vito looks over the corpse of Sonny and says "look how they massacred my boy", it's poetry from the streets.

The performances are just as memorable, Brando was perfect in the part of the Don. It was said he read his lines from cue cards off camera, he put cotton in his mouth for the large jowls, every word he says is like a razor sharp whisper. He can be fierce and gentle.

Duvall and Caan are both excellent, each one playing off the other, they compliment the scenes they are in, and don't leave Cazale out, more of him will be written in part two, this was merely his introduction.

Diane Keaton is heartbreakingly sweet as Kay, hers is the final face we see in the film, she's in the background, like all the women, she's the conscience Michael leaves behind, as the door closes on her.

I leave the best for last, this is the saga of Michael Corleone, he can join Charles Foster Kane as one of the most complex characters in American cinema. Al Pacino pours everything he has into this part. The key scene of course is when Michael is in the restaurant and he kills for the first time. So much is going on in that scene, Pacino is understated perfection, just watch him in the bathroom as he pulls out the gun, and that moment he composes himself before he goes out again. For some reason, that moment spoke volumes to me.

"The Godfather" was photographed by Gordon Willis, who was a master of using shadow and light, it is a dark film, but no darker than an average noir. Let's not forget the music by Nino Rota, who worked with Fellini, you can't escape the music here, it's everywhere, it always has the hint of sadness, but it could also evoke beauty and dread.

I feel like I've repeated what many other people have already said about "The Godfather". I still remember when I was younger seeing it for the first time, I knew it was great without being told it was. It showed me its power in the very first frame with Nino Rota's first few bars of music. It's one of cinema's greatest achievements, now go watch it, then watch it again.

The Wild Bunch

There is a code going on in "The Wild Bunch", it's the code of scoundrels, but non the less it is felt. "The Wild Bunch" is a film about outlaws, murderers,and thieves, yet we come to sympathize with them. We are on their side despite much of the carnage they can leave in their wake.

The film begins with the bunch robbing a bank, they are Pike (William Holden) the leader, Dutch (Ernest Borgnine), Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and Lyle and Tector who are brothers (Warren Oates and Ben Johnson). When the bunch get to the bank, they already have a posse ready for them, they are lead by Thornton (Robert Ryan) who used to ride with Pike, but now he's forced to side with the law in order to stay out of prison.

The robbery becomes a bloodbath, and innocent civilians aren't spared, however Pike and his crew make it out with Thornton's team not far behind. The bank was supposed to be the last score for everyone thought, but they have been tricked finding out the money was replaced with washers. Pike and the others then come across a corrupt Mexican General (Emilio Fernandez) who hires the bunch to steal guns for his army so they can use them to fight the rebels.

I was unsure about "The Wild Bunch" when I first saw it so many years ago. I can't remember when I first saw it, but I can group it together with other important films of that time like "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Easy Rider". These were the films made by a new and young Hollywood, one that separated themselves from old studio systems which worn out their welcome.

"The Wild Bunch" was directed by Sam Peckinpah, a filmmaker I know little about except his reputation of being a hard drinker who was usually at odds with studio executives. I've only seen a handful of Peckinpah's work, from what I have seen his films are full of violence, sex, and a certain nihilistic point of view towards life. But his films are also full of poetry, because despite a bleak outlook, Peckinpah's characters carry with them a code of honor, and that's what I think works with "The Wild Bunch", and that's what makes it one of the great westerns.

Most of the cast of "The Wild Bunch" are men, if there are women anywhere in the film, they are mostly prostitutes who the men have sex with. Pike does have a woman who he was in love with who is shot by her jealous husband in a flashback. Angel also has a woman who he kills because she leaves him for the corrupt General. But if there is a love story, it's between these men, their code, and their honor towards one another. Perhaps the most heartbreaking relationship is between Pike and Thornton, who you could see in flashbacks how one betrayed the other. although they are on opposite sides of the law, their is no animosity to towards the other, but you feel a certain respect between them.

The climax of the film happens after Angel is taken by the General for stealing guns for his village. The Bunch see him dragged across the street by the General's car, so later they get together to get him back. Up to that point the bunch don't have much else except eachother, they have money, but we don't see them doing much with it other than spending it on whores and liquor. They make their last stand for the only thing they believe in, themselves and there is honor in that.

There is a lot going on in the relationships of this film, Peckinpah was one of the great poets of male camaraderie like Hawks and Ford, I miss filmmakers like those. There's usually great sadness in the eyes of these men, they can say very little but the others can understand what they mean. Pike's most common phrase in the film is "let's go", in context, he usually means exactly that, but the final time he says it, before they meet their destiny, there is something behind that. Holden is perfect in the role of Pike, he was an actor who succumbed to alcoholism, he was past his 1950s leading man prime when this came it. There is tiredness in his eyes and melancholy. The same could be said for Robert Ryan who play Thornton, and man who probably was Pike's real soul mate. Holden and Ryan never speak to eachother in the film other than a flashback, but we understand the past between them, it's an unspoken bond.

"The Wild Bunch" came at me unexpectedly with all its carnage and bloodshed, I was young, I probably wasn't ready for it, I wanted to stay in the safe nostalgia of a Ford or Hawks film, I wasn't ready to grow up just yet. Today I changed my tune, "The Wild Bunch" paved the way for the westerns of today more than any other film, I feel a great sadness come over me everytime I see Pike and the others in that final showdown, but I always feel pride towards them. They were men who kept their word, and in their world, it was the only thing worth a damn.